There's a lot to discuss for the week ahead and much of it will happen at the Municipal Services Committee meeting Monday. But before I dive into that I want to touch on two things not on our agenda from last week.
The first one is the mask requirement for City Hall and all other city-owned facilities. I've had a number of conversations with the mayor both in public and private regarding this requirement. I believe we are once again the only municipality around the Fox Cities requiring one after Neenah dropped its requirement last week.
The city's policy has been to require them but not refuse anyone from entering city facilities if they chose not to wear a mask. I have expressed to the mayor that I appreciate that, but at this point I believe we are long past the point of the masks serving as a preventative measure. In our conversations in the past the mayor and I both agree that the politics of masking drive much of the decision-making around masking. While the mayor remains steadfast in his commitment to keeping the mandate until our transmission rate drops below the substantial category, I think most everyone has moved past the need for requirements and can make their own decisions regarding mask use. At some point, the public will start to lose faith in public health measures when the science is no longer being followed but for when it serves a political purpose.
I'd be interested in hearing from residents their feelings about the continued use of the mandate for city facilities. My contact info is at the bottom of this update.
The other item I wanted to share is in regards to a COVID-19 fellowship position. Fellowships are often grant-funded, term-limited positions. That is the case with this position as well.
I'd be interested in hearing from residents their feelings about the continued use of the mandate for city facilities. My contact info is at the bottom of this update.
The other item I wanted to share is in regards to a COVID-19 fellowship position. Fellowships are often grant-funded, term-limited positions. That is the case with this position as well.
I reached out to the mayor regarding this position as it did not come before a committee or council. It did not have to as it is not funded through the budget. However, I am confused as to why now? We're two years into this pandemic and at the end of the latest strain that has proven to be mild. The mayor said the position is needed to help with the large amount of tracking and paperwork required to document our COVID-19 efforts for federal funding. Much of that has been done by staff throughout the last two years, at least in terms of the tracking of information, though perhaps not the reporting side as of yet.
But digging deeper into the position description, it appears to go beyond COVID-19 initiatives and basically takes on routine administrative duties the dept. administrative assistant might do and other duties not related to COVID-19. As noted in the job posting:
- Develops, maintains, and updates communications content for the health department, not limited to program promotional materials, website, social media accounts, and online messaging and presence.
- Contributes to the development and preparation of proposals for funding from external sources from health promotion and disease prevention initiatives and programs.
- Assists in the revamping of the department’s annual report and supports implementation of a more equitable approach in health department written reports with active involvement of staff.
While I acknowledge that the health department staff has been under a heavy burden and has worked extremely hard the past two years, I worry about what happens when the funding for this position runs out in June 2023. Fellowship positions like this are easy to incorporate when they are grant-funded, but they are harder to say no to when the funding runs out and the city needs to make a decision about whether to keep it on after that.
Municipal Services
Monday 4:30 p.m. - This packed agenda is highlighted by discussion over a resolution to make permanent the so-called "No Mow May" program permanent through an ordinance change. Over the past two years the Common Council has approved this through a trial run to see how the community reacts. Now a group of aldermen is seeking to make the change permanent by changing city ordinance for allowable grass height from 8" to 12" for the month of May.
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| A comparison of a regularly manicured lawn and a lawn participating in No Mow May |
This item will surely generate some discussion. I am sure staff will have some numbers to share on how many complaints they have received about long grass during the month of May during the trial periods and prior to it.
I have a number of questions about this and while I definitely can support efforts to enhance bee populations in the city because of the pollination benefits they have, I am not sure this program has made the difference some council members think it has. I'm interested in hearing feedback from residents on this and for the discussion of the pros and cons for this item.
I have a number of questions about this and while I definitely can support efforts to enhance bee populations in the city because of the pollination benefits they have, I am not sure this program has made the difference some council members think it has. I'm interested in hearing feedback from residents on this and for the discussion of the pros and cons for this item.
Municipal Services will also take up approving some parking changes in and around the Yellow Ramp and library parking lot with respect to city employees parking there. These changes are in advance of the planned renovation and addition to the library to free up parking spaces for the public.
There are also several interesting informational items on the agenda for this committee. Discussion about what to do with a possible redesign of Soldiers Square, a discussion about the enhanced crosswalk policy and an update on the transportation utility study. The later item doesn't provide any details yet, but notes several steps the city staff have been working through with the consultant toward getting information to the council to ultimately decide if this is a direction we should go.
Finance Committee
Monday 5:30 p.m. - Unlike previous weeks, the Finance Committee agenda is a quieter one this week. There are a couple of contracts for concrete and sewer/water work to be recommended for approval to the council. There are also several requests to make recommendations of approval and denial for 2021 tax assessments for a couple of businesses following the recommendations of the Board of Review.
Fox Cities Transit Commission
Tuesday 3:30 p.m. - The only action item for the commission is to approve some bill payments but there is an interesting note regarding ridership for December of 2021, which is up compared to the past two years. There is also a more concerning trend for the entirety of 2021 which shows that ridership is stagnant compared to 2020 and lagging far behind pre-pandemic numbers. It will be interesting to see how 2022 goes and what potential changes may need to be made on the horizon to become more flexible and nimble to meet the needs of the communities the service serves.
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| Valley Transit ridership trends |
Utilities Committee
Tuesday 5 p.m. - Action items for the committee include several contract approvals, a change to the city's municipal code for stormwater management standards and a follow-up discussion on the city's Aquahawk program.
City Plan Commission
Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - The City Plan Commission will take up a dedication of public right-of-way request for a portion of sidewalk along North Appleton St. by the site of the former Blue Parking Ramp.
Community & Economic Development Committee
Wednesday 4:30 p.m. - The lone item on the agenda for this committee is request to approve a contract with Appleton Downtown Inc. to sponsor events for 2022. This is a $15,000 expense.
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| A copy of the sponsorship contract with Appleton Downtown Inc. |
Safety and Licensing Committee
Wednesday 5:30 p.m. - On the agenda for this committee is a resolution related to intoxicated bar tenders. However, I am told this resolution will not be moving forward after further staff review has raised some concerns with enforcement. I expect this item will be held or received and filed, which is another way to prevent it from moving forward.
The committee also has a number of license renewals and approvals as is typical. It will also take up two items related to the Appleton Fire Department. The first is an updated mutual aid agreement with Neenah/Menasha Fire Rescue. The other is a contract to participate in a statewide Emergency Response Group.
HR/IT Committee
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - The HR/IT Committee includes some organizational changes to the IT Department recommended by our new IT Director and a request to hire a new benefits coordinator for the city to train for one month with the current benefits coordinator who is set to retire this year.
Get In Touch
I am always available to answer questions at district15@appleton.org or (920) 419-1360. As always, agendas can be found on the agenda and meetings page of the city website. Meetings can be viewed live on the website or watched at a later date. Meetings are also open for anyone to attend in person and all meetings take place in the Common Council chambers on the 6th floor of City Hall, unless otherwise noted.
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